I had been
interested in the H7N9 avian flu and started to write on this topic in April
2013 (1). But since November 2016 there have been new cases
in Southern China. As of the
3rd of January 2017 the WHO counted „a total of 809 laboratory-confirmed human
infections with avian influenza A(H7N9) since early 2013”. Wikipedia has counted
1,223, also since 2013 but as of 2nd of March, which makes it more than 400
cases during the past two months. Better work on the number of infected people you
will find here: “人感染甲型H7N9禽流感病毒—中国“(4). “Between January 19 and February 14, 2017, the Chinese
mainland communicated to the WHO 304 cases of newly diagnosed laboratory
infections through the National Sanitary Regulations National Focal Point.”
The virus was again first seen in poultry in live
bird markets in Southern China, but the Chinese authorities closed these markets,
which slowed down new infections. Most of the infected people had direct
contact with infected birds, mostly chickens. The virus will unlikely spread
from human to human.
Bird might cover great distances, which makes the influenza
H7N9 virus dangerous. As the
numbers of newly infected people in China is declining, let’s hope, the
outbreak stops soon.
Links:
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